KwentongOFW - The Place Where OFWs United.

Based from records as of September 19 of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Senator Ralph Recto declared that there are 130 among 3,827 imprisoned OFWs who are lined for death row in 52 countries where they are employed.

With such big number being said, Sen. Recto appealed for a bigger fund to support expenses incurred in providing legal assistance for Overseas Filipino Workers.

However, the senator claimed that the said figure does not include distressed OFWs of which about 625 Filipinos are still undergoing investigations for different offenses but excluding those that have been victims of maltreatment and abuse.

Apparently, the proposed national budget for the coming year 2018 for the Assistance to Nationals (ATN) is P1 billion. This was way higher than the current budget amounting to only P400 million. However, recto said that the said amount can still be considered “short” considering the number of people who needs assistance.

Based on records, most of the offenses committed by OFWs were murder, homicide, fraud, physical injury, rape and sexual assault.

It was noted that most offenses committed by OFWs were related to illegal drug with about 2,265 on record with Malaysia having most number of OFWs totalling to 1,131 who were put behind bars due to drug related cases .

There were also 903 Filipinos who were imprisoned globally due to immigration offenses and 351 Filipinos involved in “relationship” cases and sexuality within countries were sex immorality is considered punishable by law like in the Middle East.

In fact, the POEA has been constantly reminding OFWs to avoid engaging in sexual acts outside the context of marriage specifically in United Arab Emirates as it was considered against the Sharia Law. The law also covers cross dressing which was previously reported by The Filipino times where an OFW had been arrested and deported to the Philippines. On record, there were also 169 OFWs who are serving in full their jail terms within the country.

Meanwhile, it was noted that it is in Malaysia that most OFWs were serving their jail sentences which counted to 1,927. – via The Filipino Times